On July 15, the Coeur d’Alene Art Auction, made up primarily of paintings and bronzes that depict the American West, achieved more than $21 million with a 94 percent sell-through rate during its annual sale in Reno, Nevada.
Maynard Dixon (1875-1946), The Pony Boy, 1920. Oil on canvas, 36 x 72 in. Estimate: $2/3 million SOLD: $2,130,000 World Auction Record
“It’s the biggest sale we’ve had in more than 10 years. We are extremely pleased with the outcome,” auction partner Mike Overby says. “Our consigners are quite happy as well. We even had several who called in just to make sure they were seeing the numbers right.”
The top lot was Howard Terpning’s 70-inch-wide Paper That Talks Two Ways – The Treaty Signing (est. $2/3 million) from 2008. The painting, with dozens of figures and faces, broke Terpning’s auction record when it sold for $2.36 million. It surpassed a 2012 record of $1.9 million that held strong for more than a decade. Terpning, who was mentored early in his career by Haddon Sunblom, was a prominent illustrator in the 1960s and 1970s before moving West and devoting his career to images of American Indians. The artist is 93 years old and lives in Arizona.
Edward Hopper (1882-– 1967), Shoshone Cliffs, Wyoming, 1941. Watercolor on paper, 19¾ x 24¾ in. Estimate: $400/600,000 SOLD: $574,750
Another top lot and record breaker was Maynard Dixon’s iconic The Pony Boy, estimated at $2 million to $3 million. The painting sold for $2.13 million, topping a 2005 record of $1.6 million. Interestingly, Dixon’s third-best auction record, at $1.3 million, is The Pony Boy from 2000.
Other strong sellers were William Herbert “Buck” Dunton’s action-packed A Race for the Chuckwagon (est. $500/750,000) that sold for $786,500; Henry Farny’s The Trail Over the Pass (est. $400/600,000) that sold for $665,000; Gerard Curtis Delano’s Evening (est. $300/500,000), which closed at $786,500; and Philip R. Goodwin’s Blazing the Trail (est. $250/350,000), which saw consistent bidding that pushed it well over its estimates to $574,750.
Thomas Moran (1837-1926), The Rock of Acoma, New Mexico, 1902. Watercolor on paper, 14 x 20 in. Estimate: $400/600,000 SOLD: $423,500
Philip R. Goodwin (1881-1935), Blazing the Trail, 1911. Oil on canvas, 24 x 33 in. Estimate: $250/350,000 SOLD: $574,750
The fireworks started early in the auction when an Edward Borein watercolor, the 27th lot of the 324-lot sale, sold for $90,000, well over a high estimate of $30,000. That marked the beginning of a cascade of high sales from Goodwin, Frank Stick, Joseph Henry Sharp, Thomas Moran and more. Other artists that performed strongly in the sale were Edmund Osthaus, Carl Rungius, Fritz Scholder, W.H.D. Koerner, Edgar S. Paxon, William R. Leigh, Alfred Jacob Miller and Charles M. Russell, who was represented by several small drawings and bronzes. Edward Hopper also produced stellar results with Shoshone Cliffs, Wyoming (est. $400/600,000) selling for $574,000.
Fritz Scholder (1937 - 2005), Portrait at Lone Wolf, 1983. Oil on canvas, 80 x 68 in. Estimate: $30/50,000 SOLD: $90,750
Overby adds that he was pleased with the attendance in the room and also the growing number of bidders who participated online. “We are up about 20 percent from last year,” he says. “Initially online bidders were more interested in lower-priced pieces, but that has totally changed as they are growing comfortable bidding online. We’ve seen $500,000 and up being spent through online purchases.”
Top 10 LOTS
Coeur d’Alene Art Auction, July 15, 2023 (including Buyer’s Premium)
Artist • Title • Low/High ESt. • SOLD
Howard Terpning • Paper That Talks Two Ways • $2/3,000,000 • $2,360,000
Maynard Dixon • The Pony Boy • $2/3,000,000 • $2,130,000
William Herbert “Buck” Dunton • A Race for the Chuckwagon • $500/750,000 • $786,500
Gerard Curtis Delano • Evening • $300/500,000 • $786,500
Henry Farny • The Trail Over the Pass • $400/600,000 • $665,500
William Herbert “Buck” Dunton • Two Braves • $300/500,000 • $574,750
Philip R. Goodwin • Blazing the Trail • $250/350,000 • $574,750
Edward Hopper • Shoshone Cliffs, Wyoming • $400/600,000 • $574,750
Thomas Moran • The Rock of Acoma, New Mexico • $400/600,000 • $423,500
Joseph Henry Sharp • The Young Chief • $300/500,000 • $423,500
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